Wait for me
by Megsworld123
Summary: After the love of his life disappears, Severus is forced to pick up the pieces alone. But what happens when, twenty years later, the daughter of his love is attending Hogwarts alongside Harry Potter. How will Severus handle being forced to teach Hermione Granger and Harry Potter; the children of the two women he loved and lost.


"Please have a seat," Albus Dumbledore said gesturing towards an empty chair across his desk, "Would you care for some tea?"

"No, thank you." Although the words were pleasant, Severus Snape had a tone that one would use had he just been offered something unsavory. His scrunched nose spoke of disgust, but if it were the tea or the company, no one would ever know. After a short pause, he sat down in an almost defeated manner.

"I used to only drink peppermint tea, you know." The older wizard mused as he poured some tea into his own cup. "But, a dear friend insisted I try it. I can't imagine a future without it."

"You have always been a sentimental man." Severus scoffed.

"Quite." Albus shot a knowing glance at the man sitting before him. A glance that would have made a less disciplined man squirm in his seat. But, alas, Severus was not that sort.

Instead, he spoke, "I feel like you are hiding something from me, Albus."

"You will not like what I have to say, I'm afraid."

"Has that ever stopped you before?" Severus spat, letting it show this is patience was starting to thin.  
Albus let out a low chuckle speaking, "As you know, Harry Potter will be joining us at Hogwarts this year."

"I did." Severus clipped in a flat tone, all traces of emotion stripped from his face.

Albus gave a careful glance at the man across the desk and began to speak carefully. Severus stiffened slightly, knowing the man only switched from his whimsical tone when he was speaking about things of the most sensitive nature. "There is another student starting that may be of," Albus paused as if searching for the right word, "Interest to you."

"Oh?" Severus feigned indifference despite his rising alarm. Severus had not seen this look of pity on the older man's face when they discussed Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts. His stomach twisted into knots at the thought of which child could possibly cause such a reaction. He was aware that some death eaters had children starting this year, but none of those would create the tension he was currently feeling in the room.

"The student is in direct relation to Hermione."

"I see." Severus bit out in a sharp tone, not letting his face show that his heart was currently sitting at the bottom of his stomach. All he wanted at that moment was to smash things with a glass of firewhisky in his hand.

"I know that Hermione-"

"No, not Hermione. That was her middle name. Her first name is Jean."

"Yes, but that is what everyone called her."

"They called her that when she was here, but I do not see her here. I have not seen Jean here for many years. Now, what of Miss Watson's daughter?"

"Her daughter joins our school tonight and it is of the utmost importance that no one knows of the past. Miss Granger comes to us as a muggle born."

Severus Snape let out a scoff, finally allowing his face to contort into annoyance. "Muggle-born? You mean to tell me that this child knows nothing about what an amazing witch her mother is? How could this happen?"

"Everything happens exactly as it is meant to."

"As it is meant to?" The tone of Severus' voice was low and deadly, "She left. She left everyone behind to become a muggle. She met someone and had a child. She was allowed to forget and be happy, yet I am here with a seven-year reminder of her."

Albus' expression returned to one of pity before he spoke in a soft tone, "We should head to the Great Hall. Dinner will be starting shortly."

The two men stood and walked from the headmaster's office towards the Great Hall. They took their seats and waited as other professors joined. Snape's mood seemed to darken with each cheerful greeting he was given. Eventually, his nods turned to silence and he began to ignore the greetings from fellow professors.

It seemed like an eternity before the students began to file into the Hall. Although he would never show it, Snape rather enjoyed the sorting ceremony. He sized up each new student, comparing them to any siblings he may have had in his class, and looked for any that stood out from the rest. Of course, he already knew a few would be standing out, and he dreaded that fact. After the students had taken their seats, Severus stared at the door with a bored expression that refused to expose his inner turmoil.

He felt his heart race as the doors opened and he hated himself for letting the situation have this sort of effect on him. If he were any other man, he would wonder what he did to deserve such a fate, but Severus knew the horrors he did and that he deserved this special form of torture. He put a bored glare on his face as the children of the only women he ever loved stepped towards him.

Severus felt himself do a double take as he first laid eyes on Harry Potter. He would have thought that the ghost of James Potter had come to haunt him if it were not for the unmistakable eyes of Lily. He had the same messy hair and skinny stature. He felt a rage come over him as he was reminded of the horrible things his father had done. He mused that if he would be even a fraction of his father, he would be a menace to the school.

The anger that filled his stomach fled as he felt the wind get knocked from him. Standing in the line was what looked to be a clone of Jean Hermione Watson. Although he would never call her by her middle name aloud, he allowed himself that torture in his thoughts. He had never seen his Hermione as a child, he expected this is what she would have looked like. With warm brown eyes, bushy hair, and a small frame. The only difference was the child's big teeth, which he assumed she had gotten from her father.

He had been so floored by seeing these reminders of the past, that he missed the sorting hats song, but he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of applause as it finished.

Severus watched as Professor McGonagall stepped forward with the list of names. The first name was called and he watched as a girl was sorted into Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff table burst into cheers, and Snape sat silently awaiting the rest of the students to be called. He listened as the names were called and each student was sorted. It wasn't until the end of the Bs before a student was sorted into his house. The list of students appeared to be extra long this sorting, as it was taking an unusually large amount of time to get through the alphabet.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Severus felt time stand still as the name was called. Was this a joke? This child shared the name of the woman she looked so much like. He felt anger well inside of him at the cruelty of it all. He had not said that name aloud since the day that _his_ Hermione had left him. He sat on the edge of his seat as she ran up to the stool and jammed the hat on her head. Her eagerness made him sick to his stomach, as the memories of her mother wearing the same expression flooded him. He wondered if she would be placed in Slytherin like the older Hermione. He found himself slightly disappointed when the hat revealed her house, and the Gryffindor table erupted in cheers.

A few more students tried on the hat, some taking a fair amount of time and others being sorted right away.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Severus gave a small nod to his god-son as he walked confidently up to the sorting hat. The hat had barely touched his head before it loudly declared that he would be in Slytherin house.

There was only a hand full of students left when Harry Potter was called. The hall erupted in a sea of whispers. Snape fought the urge to roll his eyes at everyone's interest in the boy. They wondered if he would be sorted into Slytherin, and it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath. As Severus suspected, he was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. The table erupted in a loud cheer that made the older man sick.

The rest of the students were sorted quickly and the headmaster stood to address the students. He made an odd speech, just as he did every year. Severus barely heard it as he looked towards the Gryffindor table. He watched Hermione talk excitedly and felt annoyance at just striking the similarities were. He glanced over at Harry and locked eyes with him, noticing how he quickly he put his hand to the scare on his forehead. Through his annoyance, he made a mental note to tell the headmaster about the incident. Snape focused on his food, taking slow and deliberate bites.

After the feast finished, he listened to Albus address the students once more before leading them in the school song. After everyone finished singing and headed towards their common rooms, Professor Snape headed towards the dungeon to his rooms. He said a password and watched as the door appeared.

He quickly made his way to his room, pouring firewhiskey into a glass. He downed it quickly before waving his wand to ensure that it would not empty. He lost track of how much he was drinking, and with that lost track of everything else.

He stumbled to his bed, thoroughly drunk and barely coherent. He fumbled under the covers and rolled to his side, mumbling. "Hermione, why didn't you come back to me? You promised." Before fading into nothingness.


End file.
